“Before you pull out that sword,” said Gaius, “you might want to pay attention to where we are.”

The girl…or rather, the Phantom Blade sitting in front of him, had taken up a modified, blade drawing stance while seated down. However, at those words, her stance had returned to normal, and for good reason. The details of the Phantom Blade, up to and including her weapon, had been publicised in the past two weeks or so, with all credit due to the Adventurers’ Guild. Drawing out a flashy blade of blue energy was a surefire ticket to being identified and chased down.

“You aren’t going to attack me?” she asked.

“I like this ice-cream parlour,” Gaius replied. “Attacking you here would destroy this place, and that will make my life miserable.”

“…True.” Tension seemed to drain out of her body. “A truce, then?”

“That implies that we’ve had a state of war between us,” said Gaius, “but if my memory serves me well, I was being unilaterally attacked. I don’t think I have any say in whether there’s a truce or not. Whether you want to fight or not, it’s all up to you.”

The Phantom Blade turned red. Gaius nodded to himself. Now that he was in close proximity to her, combined with the absence of fighting, the boy could examine her up close. At first glance, she looked younger than even Isabelle, which was no mean feat when one considered the fact that she was capable of posing some threat to Gaius. Her long, waist-length hair was docile, its brilliant white drawing eyes where she went. It was hard to get a measure of her face, since her pale skin blended in so well with the hair, and it was definitely rude to stare for a long time.

She was still wearing that odd…armour. Gaius didn’t know what to call it — it was form-fitting, yet had the texture of metal hard enough to actually somewhat resist the Terminus. Streaks of purple ran through her…attire, and with a jolt, he realised that these patterns were meant to dazzle anyone who was aiming at her from afar.

Camouflage, in other words.

“So, where’s that intelligent artefact of yours?” Gaius asked, almost conversationally. “Buncha questions I really want to ask.”

“He’s busy,” replied the Phantom Blade. Her voice carried a hint of rancour, and Gaius raised his eyebrow.

“Still sore about being chased away by me?” Gaius asked. “You’re the one who attacked me to begin with. And I’m not even really mad at that either.”

The boy stopped speaking as the waiter bore down on his table, a bowl of ice-cream in hand. After thanking the waiter, Gaius scooped out a small spoonful of sweet clouds and swallowed it. A myriad of flavours burst onto his tongue, and whatever worries the boy had previously drained out on the spot, replaced by sheer bliss.

“See?” He raised the delicate metal spoon in his hand. “Not angry.”

Seconds later, the waiter appeared again, bearing the exact same bowl as Gaius’ own. He laid it out in front of the Phantom Blade, and then departed as swiftly as he came.

She stared at the mound of sugary goodness and sighed. “I apologise for attacking you back then.”

“No harm done,” Gaius replied. “So, how did you know I have the Apex?”

“Trade secret.” She scooped out some ice-cream and ate it. Her expression was enthralling to behold — clearly, the Phantom Blade was trying to repress her emotions. It was a losing battle, one that made her rampant emotions all too pronounced.

“Fine.” After stealing another glance at his table partner’s impressive expression, the boy returned to his bowl of ice-cream. It hadn’t melted yet, a testament to just cold Dai-Yukimono was.

Gaius was halfway through the bowl when a small voice asked, “Do you still have the Apex?”

The boy looked up. The Phantom Blade’s bowl was empty, and she was staring at it pensively. Gaius considered his answer for a few seconds, and decided on the truth. “No, it’s no longer with me.”

“Oh.”

“How did you even know that I had it in the first place?” Gaius asked. “And I remember you saying that it would be gone if you failed to nab it then. How did you know that either?”

“I can’t tell you that,” she replied. “Literally.”

“You’ll get censored?”

A hint of surprise flashed through her eyes. “You know of that?”

“By now,” Gaius replied drily, “it should be obvious that I’m no ordinary boy, shouldn’t it? So how you know is probably related to the great gods, eh? Who…exactly are you?”

“I can’t tell you that either.”

“The name, at least.” Gaius shook his head. “Mentally referring to you with your title or your attire is nothing short of exhausting. At least give me a name.”

“I’m…Xanadu,” she replied.

“Hello, Xanadu. I’m Gaius.” The boy paused for a moment. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“N-nice to meet you?” Xanadu replied, perplexed. “So, about the Apex…”

“It’s gone. Trade secret. Can’t say much about,” Gaius replied smoothly. “I guess that makes two of us. Are you still going to attack me now that you know that?”

She shook her head. “I’m here for a mission. That is all.”

“To kill a Constellation, maybe?”

Xanadu froze on the spot. “You know?”

“I didn’t. Now I did,” Gaius replied. “I was watching the fight between you and Scorpio. Not too hard to guess your target when you’re spewing out vitriol while trying to end his life.”

“You were there…” She repeated Gaius’ words, and shook her head. “I didn’t see you. Nor did I detect you.”

“Trade secret,” Gaius replied, a small smile on his face. “But this isn’t about me. I’ve a tip for you, one that you might be interested to hear.”

“You have his location,” Xanadu stated flatly. “But it’s not something I can’t find out myself, either.”

“Good guess,” Gaius replied. He scooped up the remains of the ice-cream in the bowl and stood up. “Pay attention to Tekkadan Central Pagoda two days from now. He might show up there, but be careful of guards.”

“Why are you—”

Gaius got up from his table and walked over to the counter before Xanadu could finish her words. “I’ll like some takeaway, thank you. Five tubs of strawberry.”

“Coming right up, sir!”